Creating Sustainable Communities

According to an analysis of poverty, health, and deprivation in Barnet, one ward is in the top quartile of national deprivation and six more are in the second quartile. Three wards have unemployment over 50% higher than average and up to 4.5 times higher than the lowest ward. Over a quarter of school children qualifying for free meals are concentrated in two wards, and five wards have crime and disorder rates over twice as high as the lowest wards. Most areas experiencing the worst deprivation are in western Barnet, and crime hotspots are located around social housing, particularly four large housing estates considered to offer a poor environment.